1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an instant game ticket (otherwise known in the art as a “scratch ticket”). The invention further relates to lottery gaming wherein the physical instant game ticket may be purchased and verified at a lottery agent location or other suitable locations, the ticket utilizing a gameplay that provides scratchable areas that may form enclosed areas providing scratchable prize areas that provide prize symbols. In a separate embodiment, the instant scratch ticket may be electronic and displayed on a monitor screen.
2. Background of the Art
For nearly 50 years, instant game tickets, or scratch tickets as in known in the art, have been offered for sale as part of city, state, and national lotteries. These tickets typically have an array of winning numbers and an array of player numbers, each concealed with a removable film. The player scratches off the film to reveal the numbers. If a player number matches a winning number, a prize is won.
Scratch ticket games are provided wherein a predetermined number of tickets are printed, each ticket providing either a losing result or a winning result. The amount of tickets with losing results is predetermined, as are the number of tickets with winning results. Also predetermined is the number of tickets for each individual win amount. The total amount of awards of the winning tickets will be less than the total cost of all tickets in the game. For instance, a total of 90,720,000 $5 tickets may be printed and sold. The total ticket sales will be $453,600,000. The total payout to players may be $345,471,000.
Scratch tickets have gained considerable popularity since they provide a near instant gratification; that is, the result can be determined in mere seconds. A drawback of the gameplay, however, is that some players feel it is too quick. There is virtually hardly any time to build up anticipation and therefore excitement. And the more player excitement, the bigger the chance that players will buy and play the game.
To remedy the scratch-time problem, new versions of the instant ticket have lately been created. For instance, many states now offer a crossword-based game that provides an array of letters that must each be scratched off in a given word grid. Wins are based on the amount of completed words in the grid. Instead of mere seconds to finish, this word-based game can take three or more minutes to complete, all the while building anticipation and hope. As the game progresses, the player becomes aware of which letter or letters will be the most advantageous to obtain, and may root accordingly. Another example of an extended-play ticket incorporates a bingo-based game, in which bingo numbers (B3, I20, N34, G55, O70 for instance) are provided and scratched off in one or more bingo grids on the ticket. This gameplay, too, takes minutes to finish and provides an ever-escalating excitement as more and more bingo numbers are revealed, leading to hopefully winning arrays in the grid.
Various attempts have been made to create new instant games and gameplay in order to increase player participation and excitement.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,497,778 (Bozeman) teaches a word-based lottery game wherein a player buys a ticket with a word or set of words and may win a prize if the outcome of a draw confers a win status to one or more words in the ticket. The draw is a random process for which an outcome is a concatenation of characters and may confer word a winner based upon a rule such as being able to compose the word with the drawn characters.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,481,432 (Feola) describes a method of playing a poker-type scratch ticket game where a scratch ticket has a plurality of two-card, known, starter hands and five unrevealed community cards. A player reveals the community cards. Each starter hand is combined with the community cards to form complete hands. The player is paid a predetermined amount if any of the complete hands is found in a pay table. Optionally, the predetermined amount is based on the rank of the hand. Optionally, there is more than one set of community cards.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,431,646 (Jackson) discloses a method of providing award features and award methods for electronic slot-type wagering machines and video wagering machine base games. The method comprises providing a gaming display area including game areas that may be indicated as enclosed by edge features; displaying within each game area a symbol prior to positioning edge features; randomly positioning edge features on the gaming display area; ceasing positioning of edge features according to rules of the wagering game to a final count of edge features; determining if the final count of edge features enclose symbols according to rules of the wagering game; and determining if any symbols are enclosed by edge features according to the rules of the game to establish a winning event, losing event, or push event in the game.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,429,044 (O'Brien) teaches a scratch-ticket game card simulating an instant Texas Hold'Em Poker game card with multiple chances of winning for a player. The instant game card includes plurality sets of player hands and a set of opponent hands, a set of community cards, and at least two prizes. The player can combine the set of community cards with each set of player hands to form a strongest hand for that set of player hands. The strongest hand for each set of player hands is compared against the strongest hand for the opponent hand. If the player wins, the player wins the prize associated with the winning player hand.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,410,168 (Gumina) discloses a lottery instant win game card simulating a Hold'Em Poker styled card game with multiple chances of winning for a player. The instant game card includes at least two sets of player hands and at least two sets of opponent hands, with at least two sets of community cards, and at least two prizes. The player can combine one set of the player hands with either set of community cards to form a strongest hand for that set of player hands. The strongest player hand is compared against the strongest opponent hand. If the player wins, the player wins the prize associated with that winning player hand.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,926,273 (Vancura) teaches a seal card game having a number of play areas, with each play area having a hidden symbol. One of the hidden symbols on the ticket is a directional symbol. The other hidden symbols are end of game symbols. The player has one opportunity to uncover a hidden symbol in only one play area. Uncovering an end of game symbol ends the game. Uncovering the directional symbol entitles the player to uncover one or more authorized award areas within a topological area. Upon redeeming the ticket, the player receives the authorized awards in the topological area based performance of a mathematical operation on values revealed in the authorized award areas.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,761,633 (Riendeau, et al.) teaches an online game of chance and methods of conducting and playing the game on a virtual instant ticket. The game is based on a map having multiple branches and nodes, where a desired path is selected by clicking on the branch or node as play progresses between a starting point and multiple finishing points. Each available branch or node that is selected results in a prize value being increased, decreased, or a token being awarded for later use in the game. In a single player mode, a final prize is awarded to the player. In multiple player modes, the final prize is divided among the players according to predetermined criteria.
United States Patent Application No. 20090098922 (Cummings, et al.) describes a lottery game using tickets in which the tickets bear concealed numbers that may be exposed by the player after purchase to determine the winning number of that lottery ticket and after the player selects the numbers upon which the player is betting to win. In one embodiment the concealed numbers comprise the winning number for that ticket to be matched by those selected by the player.
United States Patent Application No. 20090253481 (Honour) teaches a lottery ticket game providing the player multiple sequential predetermined outcomes in which the player may choose to continue or terminate game play at a plurality of continuation points whereas the redemption value of the ticket at each continuation point is determined at the time in which the ticket is printed or activated. The lottery game represented by the lottery ticket includes a game-ending termination point in which a) the redemption value of the ticket is zero, b) the redemption value of the ticket exceeds a predefined jackpot amount, or c) the number of continuation points exceeds a value predetermined for the game.
United States Patent Application No. 20080132314 (Robb, et al.) a method for conducting a dynamic lottery game that includes determining an opening entry, dispensing a lottery game ticket, and dispensing a continuation ticket.
United States Patent Application No. 20070262520 (Martineck) describes a lottery instant-game ticket and method of making same. On a substrate is placed a first set of game indicia including a first set of game symbols, and a second set of indicia larger than the first set of game indicia and including a second set of game symbols, and includes any winning symbol. A subset of the second set of game indicia with each symbol includes a non-winning indicator. The first set and second of game indicia are covered with a removable covering, with the covering having position indicators positioned substantially over each of the first set of game indicia, and identical game symbols positioned substantially over a corresponding identical game symbol of the second set of game indicia such that removal of the identical game symbol reveals the identical game symbol of the second set of game indicia and any non-winning indicator, if present.
United States Patent Application No. 20070187888 (Dures, et al.) discloses a lottery game card for playing a Sudoku-themed game. The lottery game card includes a plurality of squares arranged in rows and columns, each square having a symbol. Selected squares are covered with a removable material. The lottery game card also includes a plurality of prize indicators, each prize indicator being associated with a predefined pattern of squares. Upon removing of covered squares by a player, if symbols in the plurality of squares match a predefined pattern, the player wins a prize associated with the predefined pattern.
Each of the references discussed in this text art are incorporated herein in their entirety for all purposes.
It is an ever-increasing challenge to provide players with new and enticing gameplay features that will stimulate player interest and increase participation in instant lottery games. It would be advantageous to provide inventive elements for an instant scratch ticket that requires minutes, not just seconds, to play, and that creates an ever-increasing level of anticipation not seen in a typical scratch ticket game.